I am relatively new to growing fig trees and am looking for some advice. I have approximately 16 trees that I started from cuttings last winter. In the spring I removed them from the 12 oz cups I rooted them in and repotted them in 1 gallon pots. For the growing season i moved them outside and mulched around the pots to moderate soil temp and moisture. They grew very well (3-5 ft) and the roots grew out of the pots much more than I thought. Now that winter is here I need to get them in for winter and I am worried about damaging the roots when I dig up the pots. My primary concern is that the trees don't appear to have gone dormant as I expected and from what I have read they don't tolerate root disturbance well unless they are dormant. Most of them were still activly growing when the first frost hit and have a lot of green branches. Here are my questions:

1. Will they tolerate the root disturbance and repotting or should i just try to protect them in place for the winter? This will be difficult as we commonly see temps below 0 degrees here in wenatchee.
2. Should I wait to dig them up just in case they aren't fully dormant? I have about a week before temps drop below 25 degrees
3. Should I prune off the green branches or will they survive

I would really appreciate any advice

Thanks all,

Theo

You should know when your figs go dormant when they lose their leaves. I would wait till that happens (it should of happen around mid to late November), then I would dig them up. You can prune them to get the shape you want (bush vs. tree). The trees should start shutting down once temperatures get into the 60s/50s. Could you send a picture of yours trees?

What were you planning to do with them for the winter?  What kind of storage?
If they are in 1g pots with roots growing into the ground, you need to get them out and repotted anyway, so do not leave them in place for the winter
I agree that you should dig them up AFTER they go dormant.